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2.2.2: Inquiring About Age (模块二- 问年龄)

  • Page ID
    44096
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    Scenario 2.1

    Zhang Wenshan asks An Dawei how old he is.

    ZhW:

    AD:

    你多大?

    我18岁。

    duō

    how old

    big, old

    suì

    year of age

    gǒu

    dog

    Note:

    你多大 literally means “You are how big of age?”, and is the most common way to ask someone’s age. When asking someone who is clearly older or senior, you would add 年纪 (niánjì, age) or 岁数 (suìshu, age) to the question, as “Nǐ duōdà niánjì/ suìshu le?

    岁 means “year of age” rather than “year.”

    Numbers 1-20

    1 yī

    2 èr

    3 sān

    4 sì

    5 wǔ

    6 liù

    7 qī

    8 bā

    9 jiǔ

    10 shí

    11 shí yī

    12 shí’èr

    13 shí sān

    14 shí sì

    15 shí wǔ

    16 shí liù

    17 shí qī

    18 shí bā

    19 shí jiǔ

    20 èr shí

    Scenario 2.2

    Zhang Wenshan asks a little boy how old he is.

    ZhW:

    B:

    ZhW:

    B:

    你几岁?

    我八岁。

    你属什么?

    我属龙。

    how many, how much

    eight

    shǔ

    zodiac

    lóng

    dragon

    Note:

    你几岁is another way to inquire about someone’s age, but it is usually only used to ask the age of children ten years old and younger.

    CHINESE ZODIAC The Chinese zodiac is a classification scheme that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. It and its variations remain popular in many East Asian countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Bhutan, and Thailand.

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